Meet Amelia!

I woke up around 3am on the 24th having contractions. I had had a false alarm on the 18th and these contractions started out feeling like those. Instead of waking everyone up, I wiggled in pain in bed for about an hour until my mom woke up.

We had been sharing a bed for a few days because Bret was up at our apartment working while I stayed where our families live so I could give birth down here. Normally I would sleep in my room but my friend Brittany was also staying with us because my mom had to go to work during the day and someone needed to be here to take me to the hospital, just in case.

So finally my mom awoke to my moaning and movement and asked if I was okay. Lol, no I wasn’t.

We spent the next half hour or so debating whether these contractions were worth going to the hospital. We finally decided to go when they got so intense I could barely move and started vomiting (tmi?).

My mom drove like mad to the hospital (I think it was mostly because she didn’t want the baby to come in her new car). I called Bret and, luckily, he had his phone volume on high. He said he’d be down asap! And I kept reminding him to take his time and not crash on the way there (I kept telling him this because the Greys Anatomy episode where Dr. Bailey gives birth and her husband gets into a car accident on his way to the hospital was one of my biggest fears with Bret staying home to work).

We got to the hospital and they checked me into the L&D triage room. My mom and I kept praying I was dilated enough to stay (the main reason I went home when I had my false alarm). The nurse checked and concluded I was dilated enough to be admitted!

I was admitted to my own room and hooked up to every machine imaginable. One of the first things I asked was “when can I have the epidural?” Luckily, I was able to get it right away.

The epidural went in and I about cried. It felt so good to not have to feel those contractions. I know a lot of women opt for the natural, no medication births but that life is not for me. I knew from the day I saw the word “pregnant” on that test that I’d be having an epidural.

The next few hours went by slowly and Bret finally showed up. They gave me a tiny hit of pictocin to move things along more quickly. I was surprised that I was brought a lunch, lol. It was an all liquid diet but I didn’t care, I was starving!

My mom and I were talking and then all of a sudden I had this weird feeling in my butt. I asked my mom “so I have this feeling in my butt, is that me wanting to push?” And she looked at me and said “yes!”

I pushed for about an hour and a half (although it didn’t seem that long). I kept pushing but, due to the epidural, it felt like I was doing nothing, haha. The nurse kept telling me that she could see the top of her head but that she wasn’t quite there yet. But then the doctor came in, ready to deliver, took one look at me and said “this baby will be out on the next contraction.” We were all like, “wait, what?!”

And sure enough, he gave me an episiotomy and she was out! I felt a pop when her head came through and then her body. It was such an odd feeling but it was amazing. She was finally here!

I had only cried once during labor and it was pretty early on in the day when I started thinking about my dad. For about two weeks I had forced the thought of him out of my mind because I knew it would bring on a ton of emotions.

When Amelia came out, and I heard her cry, I started to cry. My mom came running over to me crying too. She knew why I was crying. Not because of labor, not because she was finally here, but because of my dad.

Throughout this entire pregnancy I couldn’t stop thinking about my dad and how heartbroken I am that he isn’t able to meet Amelia. He loved being a grandpa to Layla and I know he would’ve loved Amelia so much. So that’s where her name comes in!

What’s In A Name

Amelia Wheeler.

No, she is not named after Amelia Earhart or Amelia Bedilia. Actually, she’s named after some of my favorite fictional characters. Amy Pond of Doctor Who, Dr. Amelia Shepard of Grey’s Anatomy, and Mia Thermopolis of The Princess Diaries. I have always loved the name and even more so because of these three strong representations of women who do great things.

For those who don’t know, my dad went by his middle name his entire life. His full name was Wheeler Nicholas Ashcraft the third. He went by Nick exclusively that when he had work nametags that said Wheeler but introduced himself as Nick, people got really confused, haha.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to honor my dad in some way, whether we were having a boy or girl, because I knew this baby was his and God’s way of saying everything would be okay after my dad died. I always liked the idea of using Wheeler more so than Nicholas because Wheeler is pretty unique (only my extended family members have Wheeler in their name).

One day at school I was thinking of middle names for Amelia with my friends and I said, “Amelia Wheeler…nah that sounds weird and Bret wouldn’t go for it.” But Brittany stopped and said, “No wait, that’s actually really cute!” So it stuck with me and it took a while, but Bret finally agreed!

The First 48 Hours

She did have some jaundice, which has been quite the roller coaster for us. She had to use a light blanket and be in the incubator for a while. But the good news is, it’s going down! Each day her eyes get a little less yellow and her skin (although you can barely tell) gets a little less yellow too.

We are so in love with this little angel baby! She is so sweet and makes the funniest faces (she gets it from me)! I’m so happy to be her mom and raise her using all the wisdom my parents bestowed upon me.